This paper is a material and epigraphic study of metal stirrup-shaped signet rings produced during the reign of Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten (c. 1350 BCE) now in the collections of the Israel Museum (Jerusalem), with a catalogue of metal stirrup rings associated with Atenism in other collections. The paper discusses technical and dating issues, forgeries, factors that motivated the choice of materials, the rings' uses, and the frequency of inscriptions and designs on metal rings during Akhenaten's politico-religious revolution.

This paper presents the reconstruction and recontextualization of fragmentary reliefs carved during the reign of Amenhotep IV—Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE), originating from Karnak and Amarna, in the collections of the Israel Museum (Jerusalem) and Hecht Museum (Haifa). يتناول هذا المقال إعادة بناء وإعادة تحديد سياق أجزاء النقوش المنحوتة خلال عهد الملك أمنحتب الرابع – أخناتون (حوالي 1350 قبل الميلاد)، التي تأتي في الأصل من معابد الكرنك ومن مدينة العمارنة، في مجموعات آثار متحف إسرائيل بالقدس ومتحف هيشت في حيفا.

Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) in southern Israel is a key site for understanding the Canaanite cultures of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Kingdom of Judah in the Iron Age of the Levant. It has been intensively excavated since 1932 by a number of entities. This article presents the excavation results by the Fourth Expedition to Lachish in 2013-2017. Fieldwork focused on the site's northeastern corner, a neglected area believed to have been uninhabited in some periods. Excavation in the area, however, uncovered remains of successive fortifications and evidence of cultic activities. The new discoveries highlight the strong connection of the Bronze and Iron Age cities to the nearby valley, which supplied Lachish with water, mud, fertilized land, and a major road.

In Renewing Royal Imagery: Akhenaten and Family in the Amarna Tombs, Arlette David offers a systematic, in-depth analysis of the visual presentation of ancient Egyptian kingship during Akhenaten's reign (circa 1350 B.C.) in the elite tombs of his new capital, domain of his god Aten, and attempts to answer two basic questions: how can Amarna imagery look so blatantly Egyptian and yet be intrinsically different? And why did it need to be so?

Among the sandstone talatat, Akhenaten’s standard build­ ing blocks (c. 52 ́ 26 ́ 22 cm) from Karnak, there is an intriguing series describing Akhenaten and Nefer­ titi’s toilette assisted by male attendants with shaved heads. The blocks were extracted from the ninth py­ lon of Karnak and belong to a monument built in east Karnak during the first part of Amenhotep IV/Akhen­ aten’s reign (c. 1350 bc), the RwD mnw n Itn r nHH, “Enduring is the monument of/for Aten forever” (the name RwD mnw appears in the epithets of Aten above the scenes, as the locus of Aten’s “residence”). The scenes on this edifice were the last carved in Karnak before the King’s move to Akhetaten, the new domain of Aten and royal residence in Middle Egypt. This fact is evinced by the original inscription on reliefs of the RwD mnw, associating the first version of Aten’s cartouches and epithets (in use since Year 4) with the new royal names of Akhenaten (Nfrxprwra Wanra Axnitn, introduced in Year 5) and Nefertiti (Nfrnfrwitn Nfrtity, used since Year 5– 6).1 The RwD mnw was part of the Gm pA Itn (“Found

The paper presents a study of the context, functions, and rationale behind architectural replicas sealed off in ancient Egyptian tombs, the finest exemplars of which having been excavated in the Theban tomb of Meketre (ca. 2000 B.C.). The analysis is preceded by clarifications regarding the terminology used, the point of view from which they have to be considered, and the developments that led to their presence in the funerary assemblage. It is suggested that in the sealed ‘replicas chamber’ or burial chamber in which they were deposited, it was mainly the winged ba, a connective agent between the worlds of life, death, and eternity, that was meant to enter the imaginary realm of the replicas and feed the deceased in order to revivify him.

Prompted by the discovery of a schematic uninscribed amethyst scarab at Tel Abel Beth Maacah in the Upper Galilee, an overview of such scarabs found in the southern Levant is provided, with a typological analysis and a tentative dating and origin of these pieces.

Tel Rehov, identified with Rehob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age (15th-13th centuries B.C.E.). Unlike many other Canaanite settlements, the city was founded in the 15th century after a hiatus beginning in Early Bronze Age III. In this article, four major Late Bronze Age occupation strata are described. Notable is a monumental structure dated to the 14th century B.C.E. with unusual architectural features that could be either the residence of a high-ranking family or an administrative building. During the 13th century B.C.E., this building was replaced by a new structure containing a nietalsmith's workshop, inspired by Egyptian 19th Dynasty techniques, while later building phases belong to the final stages of the Late Bronze Age. No destruction layers were found, and the Late Bronze Age city was rebuilt and continued to thrive throughout the Iron Age I. Five Late Bronze Age plaque figurines, some of particular interest, are also described. An appendix discusses a rare funerary scarab of an Egyptian high official found in the 14th-century B.C.E. edifice.

A few representations of a divine couple enthroned, the female figure sitting in the lap of the male, have survived in Mesopotamian iconography, on terracotta and stone plaques, on the Ur-Namma stela from Ur, and on a Syrian cylinder seal of the 19th–18th centuries BCE. In Egypt, the motif is mostly restricted to the reign of Akhenaten, with a few objects probably figuring Akhenaten and Nefertiti in this fashion. The ancient oriental motif may have traveled to Egypt at a time when Mesopotamian mythological texts were used in Amarna schools, and other motifs of eastern origin seem to have been favored. The representation of a divine/royal couple sharing the same throne in a position usually reserved in Mesopotamian and Egyptian art for an adult figure with a child hints at a shared thematic surrounding the throne as a royal emblem, a locus of divine apparition and erotic symbolism.

One of the typical images of Atenist iconography involves Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten extending the ‘b3/sḫm/ḫrp/ḥw-‘ scepter in the light of Aten, near offerings; known from various contexts in Karnak and Amarna, it flourishes in all phases of his reign. The ritual scene is traditionally characterized as a “consecration of offerings” modeled on similar scenes belonging to the royal iconographic repertoire since the Middle Kingdom. A new approach and understanding of the ritual gesture is proposed, according to the iconography and texts of the Amarna tombs: this context offers an insight into the time and loci of this performance and hints at a possible explanation of the Atenist cultic motif. A reappraisal of the famous double scene in room alpha of the royal tomb according to the funerary iconographic program adopted in Amarna is proposed, as well as general conclusions on the staging of the morning ritual in Amarna.

During excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, identified as the biblical Abel Beth Maacah and located in the Upper Galilee on the modern border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, a high-quality Mnḫprrꜥ scarab was found in an Iron Age I context, just above substantial Late Bronze IIB remains. Its typology suggests it to be a product from the reign of Ramses II's. Prompted by this discovery, we examine aspects of Egyptian involvement in this region during the time of Dynasty 19. It is suggested that following the outcome of the battle of Qadesh and the destruction of Hazor sometime in the 13th century BCE, the geo-political balance shifted and the area of the Upper Galilee and the northern Jordan Valley became a buffer zone, with more of an economic, rather than a military role. Egyptian interests in this northern reach of their empire were governed by mediators, rather than by the direct rule characteristic of Beth-Shean and the area to its south.

Previous articleNext article No AccessHoopoes and Acacias: Decoding an Ancient Egyptian Funerary Scene*Arlette DavidArlette DavidHebrew University of Jerusalem Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmailPrint SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 73, Number 2October 2014 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/677251 Views: 685Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref © 2014 by The Journal of Near Eastern Studies. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Karen L. Bell, Haripriya Rangan, Manuel M. Fernandes, Christian A. Kull, Daniel J. Murphy Chance long-distance or human-mediated dispersal? How Acacia s.l. farnesiana attained its pan-tropical distribution, Royal Society Open Science 4, no.44 (Apr 2017): 170105.https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170105

A golden inlaid rosette found in the royal tomb of Qatna and dated to the fifteenth to fourteenth century BCE sheds light on the evolution of the Egyptian rosette during the 18th Dynasty and on patterns of artistic exchanges between Near Eastern and Egyptian artists. Since cloisonné technique is uncommon in second millennium BCE pieces of jewelry from Western Asia, the question of the manufacture of the Qatna rosette is reevaluated and a more distant origin proposed on the basis of written documents found in Qatna.

The Ramesside Period (19th–20th dynasties, c.1300–1100 bce) has bequeathed a rich body of legal texts: royal decrees (belonging to the normative genre) dealing with conflicts of authority, criminal law, endowments, and commissions; private law instruments such as wills, gifts, contractual dispositions, and memoranda of their execution (consentient legal genre); and documents related to legal proceedings in law courts (contentious genre). This chapter examines linguistic shared features of legal and religious registers, and demonstrates that similar communicative purposes have led to parallel linguistic choices in the two fields.

AbstractIn its general meaning oflegal system or legal norms, the law of Pharaonic Egypt, from the Old Kingdom to pre‐Demotic Egypt, in principle originated from the royal persona in times of strong central government: the monarch embodied all the powers of the state through holding a divine office. His word was recorded in decrees with normative value; he was considered supreme judge and head of the executive power, and delegations of some of his competences remained theoretically under his control. Since the Old Kingdom, the vizier (two viziers for Lower and Upper Egypt, respectively, mainly during the New Kingdom) was associated with the administration of justice and the functioning of the courts, assisted by a host of agents and scribes.